Where does “بی‌سواد” come from?

بی‌سواد (Persian) comes from Persian سواد, from Arabic سَوَاد — blackness, black.

بی‌سواد (Persian): illiterate

Definitions

  1. illiterate

Ancestry of “بی‌سواد”, step by step

بی‌سواد traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Persian سواد

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Persianسوادliteracy
2Arabicسَوَادblackness, black

via Persian بیـ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Persianبیـless, in-; see example below}}
Every word from Arabic سَوَاد →Every word from Persian سواد →